Holidays without cookies?! Nah!  Only double-chocolate will do!

I haven't blogged (serious & passionately) in like a million years!  I thought I wouldn't be able to log in to this old blog again.  I do have a new blog now that I'm doing professional photography, but I would definitely like to keep this for my food and other random wacky moments.  But if you're interested in my portrait photography, please visit http://shuttertripperphotography.wordpress.com/.  And you're very welcome to follow and "like" my photography page on Facebook as well: http://www.facebook.com/ShutterTripperPhotography. I regularly post updates on my photo shoots and I'll soon be starting some contests and other interesting activities. 

Anyway, back to the job on hand.  I have been working super hard to get my business established while working a 9 to 5 job and having other domestic responsibilities.  I didn't think a lot about setting up my business till I actually started.  Man, oh man, is it ever tough!  

But I have to be honest - I'm loving every moment of it as I shape it with my own pudgy hands, and give it the look and feel I can identify with.:)  

And my new website is now up and running and starting to look close to how I wanted it: www.shutter-tripper-photography.com. If you happen to visit, please let me know what you think. :)

Amongst all this madness over the past 3 months, I have been missing meals (mostly eating them, since I have to provide for a hungry teenager all the time), missing sleep, missing blogging, but most of all, I've been missing catching up with friends, but I have such a great bunch of those, I know they understand and are super supportive despite my recent lapses! I couldn't do it without their support and constant encouragement!  

Blogging used to be a great way for me to vent, rant, rave and ramble.  I had been bottling it all up.  And finally, after months and months of hibernation, I broke out my bakeware again, and fired up my oven, just so I could blog about my second greatest passion - cooking!  

What good are the holidays without some chocolate rush? So, here's killing two birds with one stone - baking some chocolatey treats, and blogging the recipe for all those who want to try it! They turned out delicious.  In hindsight, it would have been nicer if I'd added some chopped nuts. :-S

Double-Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk/dark chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 deg F (190 deg C).
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and both the sugars till light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla until creamy.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture slowly.
5. Add chocolate chips and mix. 
6. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. 
7. Bake 8 - 10 mins. or until lightly browned.  
8. Let cool slightly and remove to wire rack.  Cool completely before storing. 
9. Makes about 3 dozen large-ish cookies.

I would love to hear from all of you and although I don't promise to start blogging here as regularly as I would like to, I will definitely be passing by now and again.  

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a wonderfully happy, healthy and peaceful 2013!  

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Orange Zest

This was my first attempt at making peanut butter cookies.  I adapted the recipe from here, but as always, tweaked the recipe quite a bit.  I made it into a peanut butter and white chocolate cookie with an orange twist.

The recipe was easy, but I found that I needed to add at least a cup of milk to the dough to get it to the right consistency.  The cookies turned out a little bit dense, but on storing them overnight, a lot of the moistness returned.  Anyone that likes peanut butter cookies would really enjoy these, but I think I might move on to different cookies the next time around.

You will need:
3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (185 grams) peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
• 1 cup cold milk (if required)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F  and place rack in the centre of the oven. 
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). You could use an electric mixer for this, but I used a hand mixer.
4. Beat in the peanut butter. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. 
5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. 
6. Add to the peanut butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Fold in the chopped peanuts if using, if using, the white chocolate chips and the orange zest. (If the batter is too dry at this point, add milk a few teaspoons at a time. Alternately, if the batter is too soft, keep in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before forming into balls.)
7. Roll the batter into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls. 
8. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, placing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Then, using the tines of the fork that has been dipped in white granulated sugar, make a crisscross pattern.
9. Bake the cookies for about 10 to12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. 
10. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for about a week. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 40 cookies.